Working for RCI?

[chengkp75]

I've been looking at the retail side of things. I've been selling Ford vehicles for the past 11 years and fancied doing something different. Can you give me any insight on the retail shops chengkp75, please?

 

 

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Almost all of the shops onboard (gift shop, internet, jewelry, duty free, spa) are concessions, so their employees are really not employed by the cruise line. They are subject to the ship's rules and policies, and can be removed from the vessel by the Captain, but not fired. They live and eat like the crew, but their hours generally are shorter. This is one area of crew experience I'm not real up on, as they were with us but not one of us. sorry.

[pfm18]

My philosophy, respect for any service staff that you encounter. Do they have bad days, of course. Do they formulate the policies and procedures they follow? Probably not. If they perform sub-par it's their training and it's not personal.

 

Remember your first job? I'll bet it was not glamorous. I started sweeping floors and cleaning bathrooms in a local department store. I'll retire in upper management with a 6 figure salary. I'll never forget where I started, and why it's necessary to respect the service staff you encounter.

 

Thank you.

 

 

I'm in retail to put me through college. A lot of it is just plain rude customers and bosses that automatically take their side.

 

 

People like you make my day :)

[freddy07043]

I have worked for RCI as a youth staff in the Adventure Ocean program...my last contract being this past April. I have worked on ships on and off for 9 years, so it couldn't of been that bad...lol! I had the privilege of seeing many places around the world and meet so many awesome people. It's not the greatest of salaries especially since all youth staff need college degrees, but you don't have to worry about rent or food expenses so I guess it all evens out.

Working on ships is ALL about the hierarchy system determined by stripes. Upper management (Captain, staff captain, hotel director, chief engineer, HR manager etc) have A LOT to do with the happiness of crew members. If these guys treat crew with respect and provide them with activities, then the crew are happy. On the other hand, if they make the crew feel like they are being treated like slaves, under appreciated, constantly nagging them about the ratings,etc, then the crew are bitter and some take it out on the guests. You can notice if the crew are happy or not as a passenger and most of the time it has to deal with the upper management. Usually if ratings are low, they take things away from crew and "yell" at them...it's all because this affects their bonuses.

The living quarters are not glamorous at all. If you are a 2 striped officer/supervisor, you get your own cabin--that is a HUGE deal on a ship. Everyone else has 1 roommate, living on bunk beds....think of your stateroom and cut it in half...that's about the size of a crew cabin. As far as crew recreation spaces, it all depends on the ship class..Oasis class has EXCELLENT venues for crew, Freedom and Voyager class have a decent venues, Radiance class is the worse because there is only 1 crew bar that fills up with smoke, Vision and Sovereign class is ok. The food...sometimes edible, sometimes you settle for cereal and peanut butter sandwiches.

As far as privileges, if you are an officer you can pretty much go around the ship and take advantage of most of the venues in guests area. A staff member which includes the entertainment division, spa, shoppies, casino,etc can go out in guest areas but some venues/bars that we can't go to like the pub, or the champagne bar. Crew (waiters, bar servers, deck hands,etc) are only allowed in guest areas if they are working.

Working conditions for my job: In Adventure Ocean, the facilities have A LOT to do with how the program will run and also the other staff members you work with. We are treated with respect from our managers most of the time, but you will run in to ones with a power trip....again low ratings in kid's club area usually deals with how the AO manager treats his/her staff. The job is hard at times especially during high counts (summer, Christmas, spring break etc). The facilities on the Adventure, Explorer, and Voyager class are the worst for the 6-8 yr olds...the room is tiny. The entrances are also bad during sign in and sign out because of overcrowding in such a small space. Best facilities are on the Freedom class, Mariner, Navigator, Majesty. Radiance class is good, but the Vision class probably has the WORST overall facilities which makes our job harder. Think of one big room with all age groups inside, separated by a curtain.....hard to run activities with so many kids. The kids can be awful and they can be great each cruise.....bad weeks/ good weeks. Sometimes it's not even the kids that make your job stressful, it's the parents. I think some people should not deserve to be parents. I'm not saying it to be mean, but the way they treat their children and leave them in the kids center ALL day...it's just upsetting. We had this one 6 yr old child who was with us ALL day (8am-2am--yes we stay open that long during port days). Come on....why even bother taking your kid on the cruise?! Other parent issues are the ones who are just always complaining and think their child could do no wrong. Luckily we only have to deal with them for a week and not a WHOLE school year! Oh and a pet peeve is when a parent says...oh our child HAS to be in the same group as his brother or sister....but one child is 4 and the other one is 8. Come on....really? You think a 4 year old would be able to participate in a 8 year old activity? Bumping up and down issues are annoying.

The crew members who work the hardest are the deck hands...these guys are behind the scenes and make sure things on the ship are running properly and that the ship is being maintained. Usually they do things that no other person would want to deal with such as garbage, sewer systems, etc.We call them blue boys because they wear blue coveralls. I give them so much respect. The crew members who work the least but get so much praise are the RCL singers and dancers and musicians. They don't work at all except their shows and tech runs. They have so much time off because they have different contracts. Usually since they have so much time off, they will help out the port and shopping guide or art auctioneer to make extra money.

[freddy07043]

Working on ships was a great experience and I got the opportunity to work with so many people from different places. Yes you have your bad days with a guest yelling in your face about something you cannot control (like the weather) but after awhile, we start to tune you out. lol!

[reallyitsmema]

Working on ships was a great experience and I got the opportunity to work with so many people from different places. Yes you have your bad days with a guest yelling in your face about something you cannot control (like the weather) but after awhile, we start to tune you out. lol!

Great information, thanks Freddy.

[Clarea]

Working on ships was a great experience and I got the opportunity to work with so many people from different places. Yes you have your bad days with a guest yelling in your face about something you cannot control (like the weather) but after awhile, we start to tune you out. lol!

Really interesting post, thanks for taking the time to give us a peek into yiour ship job experience.

[erbunny]

Many thanks to everyone for an extremely interesting thread.

[Ocean Boy]

I have worked for RCI as a youth staff in the Adventure Ocean program...

 

Very interesting read. Thanks.

[kelleigh229]

I am really enjoying this thread. Thanks for the look inside these great folks who help make our vacations amazing!

 

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[Ocean Boy]

Wow......I love it.....thank you for the detailed reply. It's interesting that you have knowledge about the medical business and you were in the engine dept. I mean that seriously.....it's interesting how you know about something totally different.(obviously the medical people tell stories :D )

I find that interesting about how you mention the "wrath of the Hotel Director".....In the real world, a Dr wouldn't risk their license to do what they did (write a Rx for something that could come back and bite them) Apparently the pen is that powerful that the Dr would do that (not risking getting a negative comment)....You like to think that if that happened, all the doc would have to say is what you described (coudn't verify that the person was really on it is what I'm reading)

I wonder how many ships these days only have 1 doc? Probably the botique cruiselines have that, but I wouldn't think the mainstream ones would only have 1 doc......boy if they did only have 1, and that doc bailed for whatever reason, that would be a heck of a mess. I thought I had read somewhere that technically ships don't have to have a doctor, but I'm sure most cruise ships do. I've never been on a river cruise (in Europe or the U.S.) but I'd guess they don't have a doc being that close to shore all the time

Thanks again for all your insight

 

I can understand how he may have knowledge of the workings on the medical facility. I could imagine the medical staff and staff from other departments mingling together and maybe have dinner together in the Windjammer. To tell you the truth, I have very few physician friends as I don't tend to enjoy hanging around with other doctors. I could see myself dining and socializing with other departments if I ever did go to work on the ships.

 

I also found the comment about the hotel director interesting. Knowing me, if a hotel director tried to tell me what was, and was not, appropriate practice of medicine he he would most likely get a taste of my wrath.

[chengkp75]

I can understand how he may have knowledge of the workings on the medical facility. I could imagine the medical staff and staff from other departments mingling together and maybe have dinner together in the Windjammer. To tell you the truth, I have very few physician friends as I don't tend to enjoy hanging around with other doctors. I could see myself dining and socializing with other departments if I ever did go to work on the ships.

 

I also found the comment about the hotel director interesting. Knowing me, if a hotel director tried to tell me what was, and was not, appropriate practice of medicine he he would most likely get a taste of my wrath.

 

From my experience, most officers did not spend a whole lot of time dining in the guest areas. Particularly for dinner, if we stayed out of guest areas, and the Medical Center qualified after clinic hours, we didn't need to get dressed in the evening uniform (blues), but could stay in our whites or khakis. We tended to eat in the officer's mess, unless we could not stand the roast chicken for the 8th time in 16 weeks!:eek: The engineers in particular, after spending time in the engine room working, would not wish to get into blues just for dinner. This was saved for special occasions, or a couple times a month. But yes, we did mingle interdepartmentally, and swap stories of what craziness either the guests or the crew presented us with that day.:p

 

Again, I wasn't trying to imply that the HD would tell the MD how to practice medicine, but only how to smooth the feathers of a guest that didn't get what they wanted. If the MD had spent the extra time and effort to patiently explain, over and over, why he could not write the RX, and send the guest away with a promise of chocolate covered strawberries (or some such), the HD would have been happier, though given this particular guest, I don't think there would have been any way to get away from a negative comment card.

[Ocean Boy]

From my experience, most officers did not spend a whole lot of time dining in the guest areas. Particularly for dinner, if we stayed out of guest areas, and the Medical Center qualified after clinic hours, we didn't need to get dressed in the evening uniform (blues), but could stay in our whites or khakis.

 

So does the ship's doctor have to be in uniform pretty much anytime except when he is sleeping???

[stretchcruz]

She was in a swimsuit by the pool with her family.

[slimkat]

Working conditions for my job: In Adventure Ocean, the facilities have A LOT to do with how the program will run and also the other staff members you work with. We are treated with respect from our managers most of the time, but you will run in to ones with a power trip....again low ratings in kid's club area usually deals with how the AO manager treats his/her staff. The job is hard at times especially during high counts (summer, Christmas, spring break etc). The facilities on the Adventure, Explorer, and Voyager class are the worst for the 6-8 yr olds...the room is tiny. The entrances are also bad during sign in and sign out because of overcrowding in such a small space. Best facilities are on the Freedom class, Mariner, Navigator, Majesty. Radiance class is good, but the Vision class probably has the WORST overall facilities which makes our job harder. Think of one big room with all age groups inside, separated by a curtain.....hard to run activities with so many kids. The kids can be awful and they can be great each cruise.....bad weeks/ good weeks. Sometimes it's not even the kids that make your job stressful, it's the parents. I think some people should not deserve to be parents. I'm not saying it to be mean, but the way they treat their children and leave them in the kids center ALL day...it's just upsetting. We had this one 6 yr old child who was with us ALL day (8am-2am--yes we stay open that long during port days). Come on....why even bother taking your kid on the cruise?! Other parent issues are the ones who are just always complaining and think their child could do no wrong. Luckily we only have to deal with them for a week and not a WHOLE school year! Oh and a pet peeve is when a parent says...oh our child HAS to be in the same group as his brother or sister....but one child is 4 and the other one is 8. Come on....really? You think a 4 year old would be able to participate in a 8 year old activity? Bumping up and down issues are annoying.

 

Thank you for your insight. It was quite an interesting read. As a mother of three boys (8 year old twins and a 5year old), I enjoy having my children hang with us during vacations. Our children would always go to AO for about 2-2.5 hours a day for a particular activity. I feel so sorry for any child who is dropped of from opening to closing time. What a lonely experience that must have been for them. I can also understand being annoyed by the bumping issue. There are safety concerns when you have older children playing with younger children. I see it with my boys all the time. The younger ones can not always anticipate what can happen next and can be run over or hit with something, etc., etc.

 

Again, thanks for your take on things.

[scopewest]

What a fascinating thread! I'm sure most of us have fantasized about working on a cruise ship, but I'll bet those dreams were more of "I'll work 9-5 and have the weekends off to enjoy my 'cruise'." Ha!

 

Thanks for all the info.

[Ourusualbeach]

For those thinking of enjoying an easy life of work aboard a cruise ship then you should check into being a guest lecturer. My parents met a retired Mountie aboard their Alaska cruise who was onboard giving a couple of short lectures and posing for pictures in his full dress uniform. He and another retired Mountie split the Alaska season between them. They received a free cabin and were free to use all the guest areas when they were not working. Not sure if he received any additional compensation on top of this but what a way to cruise for free. Many lines other than RCCL have these guest lecturer positions.

[99florida]

I had an interesting conversation with the lifeguard supervising the water park at Labadee. He was from London and was doing a 4 month contract on Labadee- he said it was wonderful, especially compared to working on the ship. He was a professional scuba diver, in charge of securing and taking care of the giant inflatables. He said the crew quarters on Labadee were really nice and they especially enjoyed quiet time once the ships departed! All of their food/supplies are brought in on the ships. He said they had dormitory style housing and lots of parties. Until then, I had no idea there was staff on Labadee grounds full time.

 

He also said the Haitians used to steal the inflatables from the water park in the middle of the night, deflate them, then drag them back to the staff in the morning and say, "Look what we found, drifted over to our village." He said they paid them a $200 cash reward the first time that happened- then the following night 3 more disappeared, so they stopped with the rewards and started figuring out how to secure things. Now part of his job is to chain them underwater- he dives down in scuba gear to make sure they are secure and can't be stolen. Same with wave runners, etc.

 

He also said when he was working on the ship, he did long hours on the Flowrider and Rock Wall. He said at any moment, RCI can pull someone from Labadee and put them back on a ship- he was really hoping that didn't happen to him!

 

I wonder how they are compensated, it's not like you tip the guy who helps you get on the Flowrider! Anyway, It was very interesting, to say the least!

 

 

I chatted with an employee who worked on Coco Cay (wave runners). He was from England, young, tall, and good looking. He was telling me that when a ship was not in port or after they left Coco Cay, they would head out to another small island close by that had a bar and partied with others. He said that he "loved" his job, not to stressful (other than normal complainers) and being single why not enjoy what he loved to do (play on/in the water) and get paid for it. Very professional and honest of his feelings. He did not find his position stressful or threatened in any way. He was healthy, strong, and not ailments. He was in his mid to late 20's and enjoying life. :) It showed as he was thrilled to make passengers happy about being on the water.

[freddy07043]

Thanks guys for appreciating my post....another thing is don't forget to mention someone who has done a great job and made a difference during your cruise vacation in your comment cards. The crew members really enjoy seeing their names mentioned and it gives them some encouragement to continue to keep doing a great job for the guests.

[freddy07043]

Thank you for your insight. It was quite an interesting read. As a mother of three boys (8 year old twins and a 5year old), I enjoy having my children hang with us during vacations. Our children would always go to AO for about 2-2.5 hours a day for a particular activity. I feel so sorry for any child who is dropped of from opening to closing time. What a lonely experience that must have been for them. I can also understand being annoyed by the bumping issue. There are safety concerns when you have older children playing with younger children. I see it with my boys all the time. The younger ones can not always anticipate what can happen next and can be run over or hit with something, etc., etc.

 

Again, thanks for your take on things.

 

You are ABSOLUTELY correct about it being a safety issue. This is why there are the age groups and how each program is designed to be age appropriate.

[coordinator23]

I have enjoyed reading this thread. I know someone who has cruised in various ports, on a seasonal basis, giving guest lectures. Wish RCI had more of these. We had the luck of being assigned to the table he and his wife were assigned to. We met him doing the western Mexican coast, and we learned a lot about whales through his lectures. I realize that we probably have to switch lines to enjoy additional lectures. RCI seems to have cut back on these.

[chengkp75]

So does the ship's doctor have to be in uniform pretty much anytime except when he is sleeping???

 

Yes, officers and hotel supervisors will be in uniform at all times during working hours, and normally most hours outside their cabin. If they were to go to crew bar (not usual) or to crew parties, they can be in civilian clothes.

 

The nurses tend towards scrubs during clinic hours, and whites outside clinic.

[varoo]

For those thinking of enjoying an easy life of work aboard a cruise ship then you should check into being a guest lecturer. My parents met a retired Mountie aboard their Alaska cruise who was onboard giving a couple of short lectures and posing for pictures in his full dress uniform. He and another retired Mountie split the Alaska season between them. They received a free cabin and were free to use all the guest areas when they were not working. Not sure if he received any additional compensation on top of this but what a way to cruise for free. Many lines other than RCCL have these guest lecturer positions.

Also for leading/teaching other activities, like the Zumba instructors on some cruise ships. Great way to get a free cruise.

 

[RavaRiles]

Great thread, just wondering how someone gets a job as a cruise director and although looks like one of the busier jobs on the ship also looks like it would be great fun. These cruise directors are admirer all spoken about like celebrities ( and rightly so ) !!!

I have never seen a cruise director receive a tip though !?!?!?

Cheers Ian

 

 

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[chengkp75]

Great thread, just wondering how someone gets a job as a cruise director and although looks like one of the busier jobs on the ship also looks like it would be great fun. These cruise directors are admirer all spoken about like celebrities ( and rightly so ) !!!

I have never seen a cruise director receive a tip though !?!?!?

Cheers Ian

 

 

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Cruise staff (the ones who help organize the games, contests, etc) are usually promoted to Cruise Director after a few years experience. Cruise staff are sometimes direct hires, and sometimes crew transfers from other jobs.

[Ocean Boy]

Great thread, just wondering how someone gets a job as a cruise director and although looks like one of the busier jobs on the ship also looks like it would be great fun. These cruise directors are admirer all spoken about like celebrities ( and rightly so ) !!!

I have never seen a cruise director receive a tip though !?!?!?

Cheers Ian

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

I've seen posts go both ways. People will rave about certain cruise directors and people will be just as vocal if they find a cruise director to be irritating.